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Black Spiders with red spots on their back....

Someone please tell me there is more than one species that fits the profile....excluding the black widow.

I was taking a stroll down the pkwy today when low and behold I felt something on the back of my left hand. Looked down and saw a spider spread eagle on my hand. Was black with a red spot or red sack on it's back. I knocked it to the ground then started dancing a jig. During that impromptu performance...I managed to step on it. So.....being the curious person that I am..I reached down and picked up the flatten insect with a piece of paper. Bought it home and vacuum sealed it...on gentle mode of course. I wanted to have the evidence in case I kicked the bucket. Did have an itching on that spot of my hand for a little bit...but that's about it. I'm still here, thank goodness!

It was probably a male black widow. The southern subspecies males have red spots on their back, usually surrounded by a yellowish border. They are venomous, but rarely bite, and are not considered a danger to humans. They cannot hurt you. They spend their short lives searching for a mate, and then shortly after mating, if they "admire their work" for too long, often find themselves as the females first post mating meal. That is how they get the name Black "Widow". They do not always eat the male, however. A female black widow has an hourglass shaped red spot on the bottom of her abdomen near the spinneretts. However, females can sometimes have red spots on their back as well. But, you usually don't find them wandering around like the males do, they usually, but not always, stick to their disorganized webs, which are very very strong. Usually they are only seen when you disturb the web, and if they have eggs, they can get incredibly aggressive and protective. Unlike a lot of other spiders, they will stand and fight whatever is trying to get their eggs.

The one sure way to tell the difference between male and female is size and appearance. If it had a bulbous large abdomen, it was a female, if it was simply puny and flat looking, it was a male. As you may guess, the females are highly venomous. Their venom is about 80 times more potent that some rattlesnakes, but the amount they inject is so miniscule that it is rarely fatal. Most people get fever, muscle aches and spasms, sweats, but rarely is the bite ever fatal. Quite painful though. I've caught 3 in my house (yep, they like my basement for some reason) in the past and kept them in a jar. They all showed classic appearance, and I found one under a rock once that had white and brown swirls on its abdomen. The cousin of the Black Widow is the Red Backed Spider. It lives in Australia and is nearly as toxic. I would say that the only other thing it may have been is some type of jumping spider, which again, is harmless, and would have taken on a "furry" appearance. The thing to remember is again, the vast majority of bites from Black Widows are not fatal. It is very rare that a person dies from their bite. Bees kill way more people, so don't get too worked up about it. You should know within a couple of hours as the symptoms will start to show. Hopefully it was just a male searching for a little action.

It was more flat than bulb body type. It's legs were outstretched when I noticed it. And the red was on it's backside...thank goodness. Must have come down from the trees I was walking under.
Guess he was making an attempt at some action. Too bad he got squashed in the process. It seems that spider is the only nibble I've had in a while, lol. Oh well....

It was more flat than bulb body type. It's legs were outstretched when I noticed it. And the red was on it's backside...thank goodness. Must have come down from the trees I was walking under.
Guess he was making an attempt at some action. Too bad he got squashed in the process. It seems that spider is the only nibble I've had in a while, lol. Oh well....

I have found female Black Widows in the past and they ar not typically found out in the open in my experience. I hate spiders by the way! Having taught First ais, CPR and AED sage for years, I have taught folks about them and shown pictures of the bite wounds many times. Seeing a Black Widow (female) unexpectedly will usually cause a sudden lapse of bladder control on my part! Did I mention I hate spiders? Brown Recluses.....nasty!

I have no problem with them, but you remind me of my dad. 6' 5", 235lbs, and he would tap dance on que when a bottle cap sized spider got near his toes. I have caught spiders ever since I was a kid, mostly with just my bare hands. I've always been aware of what Black Widows look like, though, and knew better than touching them. Same with snakes, I have no problems picking them up, all except for the venomous ones that is, I use a grabber or stick for that. The Black Widows we found in the house went straight to a jar. I felt they were way too neat to simply squash. They would eventually spin webs in the jar, and we would throw japanese beetles in for them to eat. They sure are quick buggers for having such a disorganised web. After a few weeks of watching, we would take the lid off way up in the mountains and roll the jar down into the woods. I figured they deserved at least a chance. Same place I take copperheads to let them go. Far, far away from people and pets. Never really saw very many Brown Recluse spiders. My little sis was bitten on the leg, and now has a quarter sized spot of skin that looks like she was burned. She has no feeling there either. The way I understand, though, some scientists are beginning to suspect that just as many necrotic bites are being caused by Wolf Spiders as Brown Recluse. You know what they are, they're the ones that are bigger than the top of a coffee mug. They are the ones that you can hear the "CRUNCH" from when they hit something with their fangs.

Wolf Spiders are venemous? And round my place we pick snakes up by the tail doing the windmill till we find a tree Just the way we see it. We let black and kingsnakes/anything non venemous go. My dad hates snakes and uses a bush axe though. Killed lots of black widows stacking wood/goofing off in the shed. Dont really prefer spiders

Wolf Spiders are venemous? And round my place we pick snakes up by the tail doing the windmill till we find a tree Just the way we see it. We let black and kingsnakes/anything non venemous go. My dad hates snakes and uses a bush axe though. Killed lots of black widows stacking wood/goofing off in the shed. Dont really prefer spiders

Yep, nearly every spider is venomous. Most spiders just have venom that either isn't toxic enough to harm humans, or there isn't enough. The thing that makes Black widow venom dangerous is its toxicity. It's nearly 80 times more toxic than some rattlesnake's venom. However, the amount injected is miniscule, so it is usually non-fatal. As for Wolf Spiders, just like with bees, it depends on your body's reaction. They have more venom and larger fangs than a widow, so it is injected deeper. It's not nearly as toxic, but just like most venom, it is meant to break down tissue. If your body has a tough time getting rid of it, and reacts badly to it, their bite can be, although localized, nasty. Usually, however, it is simply painful, red, and swollen.